This invention relates to an elevator group supervision apparatus which is utilized in case of changing or increasing the number of elevator cars.
With the progress of computer technology, electronically-operated elevators have appeared and are coming into wide use. The electronically-operated elevator uses computers for both a group-supervisory device and an elevator control device as shown in FIG. 1 of the official gazette of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-138576.
In addition, the computer of the group-supervisory device and that of the elevator control device transfer signals through a serial signal transmission processor as well as a communication line.
On the other hand, in buildings already constructed, a large number of relay type elevators which are controlled by relay circuits without employing computers are operating even now. The relay type elevator has a group-supervisory device and an elevator control device which are constructed of relays, and between which parallel signals are transmitted.
In case of changing or increasing an elevator in an existing building, the electronic elevator which is better in performance than the relay type elevator and is spreading rapidly.
Besides, in the group supervision apparatus for electronic elevators as shown in FIG. 1 of the aforementioned official gazette, all the elevators to be group-supervised use computers for the elevator control devices.
Accordingly, when an electronic elevator is to be substituted for one of a plurality of existing relay type elevators or when an electronic elevator is to be included into a single elevator group having at least one existing elevator, an arrangement shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B is employed.
Letter FIG. 6A shows indicates an electronic elevator system, wherein, When a hall call button 1 is depressed, a hall call signal is transmitted through a parallel signal transmission line 2 to the parallel signal transmission processor 3a of a group-supervisory computer 3 and is loaded in the group-supervisory computer 3.
In #1 Elevator 5, the status signal of the #1 elevator 5 is transmitted from elevator equipment 8 through a parallel signal transmission line 7 to the parallel signal transmission processor 6b of a computer 6.
This status signal is transmitted to the serial signal transmission processor 6a of the computer 6, in which it is converted and processed into a serial signal. The serial signal is sent through a serial signal transmission line 4 to the serial signal transmission processor 3b of the group-supervisory computer 3, whereby the status signal of the #1 elevator 5 is loaded in the group-supervisory computer 3.
Thus, the group-supervisory computer 3 performs the service operation control of the elevator so as to respond to a hall call on the basis of the hall call signal and the status signal of the #1 elevator.
Letter B in FIG. 6 indicates a relay type elevator system already installed, in which #2 Elevator 9 is an existing relay type elevator. By depressing a hall call button 10, a hall call signal is sent to a relay-system group-supervisory device 11 and then to the relay-system elevator control device 9a of the #2 elevator 9. The drive control of elevator equipment 9b is performed by the relay-system elevator control device 9a.
As seen from the arrangement of FIG. 6, the group-supervisory device for the electronic elevator in the prior art can be connected to only the elevator control device employing the computer by the serial signal transmission and cannot be connected to the existing relay type elevator 9 in the system B.
Accordingly, the electronic elevator installed or increased anew and the relay type elevator installed before cannot be group-supervised as a single group, and group supervisions independent of each other must be performed by disposing the two sets of hall call buttons 1 and 10 and establishing the divided elevator groups of the electronic elevator and the relay type elevator as illustrated in FIG. 6. Besides, in the case where each elevator group includes one elevator and both the groups include two elevators in total just as depicted in FIG. 6, each elevator must be operated singly.
Therefore, in a case where an existing relay type elevator group has been partly replaced with one or more electronic elevators, the elevator group incurs a lowering in service.
With the prior art, it is impossible to include an electronic elevator and operate it in association with existing relay type elevators so as to enhance the group supervision service.